At the B2 level, connecting sentences with simple tools like und, aber, or weil is no longer enough, because polished writing and speech require expressing precisely what kind of logical relationship links two ideas: means, contrast, a resulting consequence, or a rejected alternative. Each relationship has its own dedicated connector (Konnektor), and each carries a strict rule for verb placement, since getting it wrong produces a sentence that is understandable but clumsy or imprecise.
Among the most important means-connectors is indem, roughly "by doing X," which introduces a subordinate clause with the verb pushed to the end, as in Sie verbessert ihr Deutsch, indem sie täglich liest ("she improves her German by reading daily"). Close to it is dadurch, dass, expressing cause or means with slightly heavier phrasing. ohne zu and anstatt zu are used when both clauses share the same subject, followed directly by an infinitive with no repeated subject, as in Er ging, ohne zu sprechen; but when the subjects differ, the full forms ohne dass or anstatt dass are required, introducing a complete subordinate clause with its own subject and a verb at the end, as in Er ging, ohne dass ich es wusste. This distinction — infinitive-with-zu when the subject is shared, full clause-with-dass when it is not — is one of the finer points of German grammar at this level.
For consequence, sodass expresses a logically resulting outcome, with the verb at the end of the clause that follows the comma, as in Er ist krank, sodass er nicht kommen kann. A related structure, so + adjective + dass, intensifies a quality and links it to its consequence, as in Es ist so kalt, dass wir frieren. For paired comparison, je...desto corresponds to "the more... the more," with a fixed structure: each half starts with a comparative form right after je or desto. The verb goes to the end of the first half but returns to second position right after desto in the second — an exception worth noting since it breaks the pattern of other connectors, as in Je mehr du übst, desto besser wirst du.
The most common mistake is confusing ohne zu/anstatt zu with ohne dass/anstatt dass — using the infinitive despite two different subjects, which produces a vague or ungrammatical sentence. Before reaching for zu plus infinitive, always confirm first that both clauses share a single subject.